In Andrea Bartz’s The Spare Room, a potentially fatal tryst unfolds in a remote Virginia mansion after a married couple invites a friend into their home. In Dwyer Murphy’s The Stolen Coast, two old flames embark on a million-dollar diamond heist amid the seaside cottages of coastal Massachusetts. In S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed, a serial killer stalks a quiet town in Virginia reckoning with its harrowing past. Moderated by Hirsh Sawhney (South Haven), this panel explores the dark and sometimes explosive side of small-town life.